Synaptogenesis on Camera and My High Stakes Neurohack

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The Network Behind the Network: Synapses, Astrocytes and Sleep

There is a network supporting your neurons, and it is more dynamic than the neural network itself.

Synapses and the glia

Synapses outnumber neurons by a wide margin. Their strength comes in two broad flavours: short-term potentiation (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP). Astrocytes, a type of glial cell, help regulate this at the synapse, which adds a whole new dimension to the humble neuron. Synaptic strengthening is a foundational component of memory, a conclusion I reached a fair while ago.

Note: this is all from memory. I've been fascinated by the synaptic "mechanism" thanks to the inordinate amount of sleep I've lost as a self-confessed stimulant enthusiast.

What sleep does

When you sleep, the brain prunes a significant share of its synapses (animal studies put it at around 20%) and consolidates the connections that remain. This is neuroplasticity, a well-established concept.

The experiment

Warning: this is a psychologically precarious pursuit. I don't recommend or condone it.

Using supplements, I learned to maintain a decent standard of neurological health through 1 and 3–7 days without sleep, using catecholamine precursors and a little serotonin support. Getting high was never the objective. I had a use for the accumulated sleep loss, and I've refined what I call a "high-stakes neuro hack".

As day turns to night and back to day, the synaptic pruning of sleep doesn't happen, and for my purposes that's the point. After a "run" the mind ends up hyperconnected. That is fertile ground for psychosis, and akin to LSD without the synaesthesia. Psychosis hasn't been a problem for me, and I get some of my best work done in this state. I'm also driving synaptogenesis by immersing myself in study and research, so I'm building new synapses on top of an already larger number.

This is my own model, not established scientific fact. It's built from my reading and lived experience, and it makes a great deal of sense to me. Treat it as a hypothesis, not a finding.

The catch

A compromised short-term memory. You adapt by logging, note-taking and transcribing.

The rules

• Steady hydration, and nutrition to a lesser degree
• L-tyrosine and L-phenylalanine are non-negotiable
• Lie down for 4–8 hours a day. It's the next best thing to sleep.

How far I took it

I once stayed up 23 consecutive days on 6 hours of sleep. Never again, and at considerable expense.

The "golden" phase

When you finally allow yourself to sleep, 2–4 hours feels like 8–12. Synapses are lost and some plasticity resets. This phase is somewhat golden, and it's where I have my best ideas.